All That You Can’t Leave Behind

…No – not just the title of U2’s tenth album… This thought occurred to me tonight while I was flipping burgers in the dark on a picnic table.

BTW –, and I don’t say this lightly or boastfully, my burgers ROCK.

Any way and back on topic… the thought occurred to me just what are the things that I can’t leave behind? What are the things that I cannot do without at this juncture in time? Make no mistake, time has a way of making what is so important now into piles of flotsam and jet some in the near to near future – future. Dare I say the dual processor laptop that you treasure will be obsolete next week? Pssh, but you know that already… It’s just the way of things.

Things. That’s almost all they are, right – souvenirs of moments past – reminders of another time in which you happened to share between the moment and yourself. Hey, I’m not pointing fingers; Lord knows I’ve got ‘em too. Believe me it doesn’t take too long to look around the room that I’m typing this in and realize the Evil Chicken’s has a weird collection of things around him while he writes. It’s true. I do. The oddities that surround me have only significance to me. If you were to ask me why I had a certain item here in the Chicken’ s Roost I’d probably tell you but you would quickly lose interest. Therefore, I will not bore you with the rest of the gory details. Many of the oddities around me are completely selfish in nature, like the rock from Centralia PA or the one I found on the Appalachian Trial here in North Jersey (did you know that there is about 75 miles of the AT here in New Jersey, Gentle Reader? Well, I’ve climbed that mountain and the only souvenir that I took was a rock. Amazing experience – you should try it, BTW.)

So, like I said, as I was flipping burgers this very evening, the thought occurred to me that they were all just things; material goods that only I know the significance or value of. That’s it, nothing more. When I’m gone my children will all say Dad was crazy for the things that he collected - and they will be right. Let’s cut to the point here; as I look around this room and consider the things that I would want to save in case Rancho Del Evil Chicken is hit by a meteor I come up with this quick list…

1. The compass from the Half Shell, my father’s boat. Why? – It was dad’s boat - all I have now is the compass.

2. My NCC-1701 Enterprise ornament from Hallmark. Why? – Well it was the only present I received the year that Mother Hen and I first got an apartment together. I got her a coffee grinder.

3. My “Raiders of the Lost Ark” one sheet. Why? – It’s one of my favorite movies of all time and Mother Hen gave it to me.

4. The Size Chart hanging on my door. Why? – I can see how much my children have grown over the years. I would hate to lose this.

5. My framed and autographed Weird NJ issue 25. Why? – I’m in it and it was the second time that I met the Marks (Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman that is).

6. My framed and autographed Peter Laird issue of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” Volume II, Number 1. Why? – As I told the man himself back in 2003, the guy's an amazing success story and illustrates to me what can be accomplished with a little imagination and hard work.

7. My burlap Griffin. Huh? – I won it by putting a cross bolt arrow through the heart of another griffin all the while being told by people who knew me that I couldn’t do it. It’s a keeper.

8. The external hard drive downstairs. This one has ALL the pictures.

9. My postcard collection. Why? – Well I’ve been to some nice spots (by my reckoning) and have amassed an interesting collection of postcards along the way. I’d hate to see ‘em go.

10. My laptop would be nice but I’ve got everything backed up off property anyway. If the meteor hits Evil Chicken’s nest I’ll be up in no time; novels, screenplays, short stories, blogs and writings will be intact. At the end of the day, Gentle Reader, things are all they are – most of which only having significance to yours truly. I’d be quite happy knowing that the Three Chicks, Mother Hen and yours truly were safe. I just thought it would be fun to share the short list.

So, what are the things that you would take with you?